Girls re-design train stations in Network Rail Competition

19 April 2017 -

Last term, two teams of UIV girls carried out an engineering project sponsored by Network Rail, called ‘Stations for the Future’. The Celebration and Assessment day was on Tuesday 18 April at the University of Westminster and both teams produced excellent written reports, displays of their work, models of their station designs and gave presentations to the panel of judges.

Team 1 chose Shepherd’s Bush Station. They carried out a survey and a great deal of research before re-designing the station to improve sustainability and include features such as a gym, café and wi-fi, their moto being: ‘Track to the Future’.

Team 2 chose High Wycombe station and called themselves ‘Smarter Stations’. They carried out not only a survey within school but also visited the station early one morning with a questionnaire to discover the opinions of the regular commuters. They took on board the comments about expensive, inconvenient parking facilities and designed a second floor for shops which would generate sufficient revenue to enable a reduction in parking charges. They also designed an App to facilitate an affordable and convenient ‘Uber’ service to help with congestion. They also included sustainable features such as ‘Pave-Gen’ flooring which generates electricity from the energy of foot-fall.

Feedback from the judges was extremely positive for both teams and all gained Bronze Industrial Cadets Certificates. However, ‘Smarter Stations’ caught the judges’ attention in particular with their slick presentation and clear focus on the factors which were most important to customers. The judges were unanimous in their decision to choose Wycombe Abbey Team 2 for the award for Best Overall Project. Congratulations to Darvin, Lily, Skye and Lauren for all of their hard work.